Day by day, week by week
by Mirime Kisarrastine
Summary: Collection of drabbles focusing on various aspects of Sesshoumaru and Rin's relationship. I pushed the rating because of number 7.
1. Black Flowers

This is my series of drabbles written for weekly challenges on mfsanctuary community on livejournal. All of them are Sesshoumaru/Rin in some way, so consider yourselves warned.

Disc.: Rumiko Takahashi is the rightful owner of these people and demons, not me.

Week: 1

Prompt: Cold Comfort

* * *

There were no flowers here, Rin noted sadly. Lord Sesshoumaru had travelled to the far north in his pursuit of Naraku and those lands were still covered in snow with no flowers to be found. Still, it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't disappear shortly after, leaving her in this cave with strict orders not to wander and disgruntled Jaken as a guard. Rin sighed and poked the fire, looking at the toad demon who seemed to be very cold.

"Master Jaken? When is Lord Sesshoumaru coming back?"

"Insolent girl, it's not your right to question his actions. He comes and goes as he pleases..."

Rin tuned him out, knowing this lecture by heart. When he finally stopped, she nodded as if properly chastised. That seemed to satisfy him, because he fell asleep shortly after. Rin looked at the mouth of the cave and the white world beyond, wishing again that flowers grew here. She always had flowers ready for her lord when he came back and didn't want to break the tradition. Picking the flowers also made her feel he would come back sooner.

She straightened up as she got an idea. Carefully extracting a long twig from the flames, she pressed its blackened end to the ground and started drawing a rough outline of a bluebell. Another flower joined it quickly and as Rin immersed herself in her task, she felt better. They might not have been real, but here and now, these flowers were good enough.

* * *

AN: This one actually came second in the first week. Yay! 


	2. Theory of Paradox

Week: 2

Prompt: Forever

* * *

Time never mattered to Sesshoumaru. When he was young, he knew he was going to live for an exceptionally long time, not forever but close enough. Time was insignificant. As he grew older, he learned the nuances and paradoxes of a time perception. Yet he remained unmoved by it all. Until he met her.

Rin.

A fragile human girl, his opposite in practically everything. It was because of her that he noticed the fluctuation of time for the first time. When he used Tenseiga to resurrect her and waited for her to wake up, those few seconds leading to her first breath seemed to take longer than all years of his wanderings. Anxiety and anticipation built in him as he waited for the success of his experiment. At least, that's what he thought.

Sesshoumaru might have deceived himself in the beginning, but as their journey continued, he realized that time always slowed down for him when Rin was in danger. It was almost like he couldn't get to her fast enough, like the immensely short seconds split themselves into even smaller parts with twice the length of ordinary seconds. But it was when Rin was taken to Hell that he came to fully understand just how his view of time had changed.

As he held her dead body and Tenseiga laid there like an useless piece of metal he had always considered it to be, he finally knew the feeling of helplessness. Time literally stopped for him. The greatest irony of it all was the fact he was in Hell physically and entered willingly. And the Hell turned his nightmare into a reality, taking from him the one thing that changed his existence into a true life.

He stood there for only seconds before Tenseiga awakened, but those moments were the longest in his life and he finally understood what eternity could be like. Empty, cold, lifeless, reminiscent of the child he held. And yet, he was wrong. There was another eternity, the one he experienced when his mother brought Rin back from dead and time backed away from where he knelt next to his little girl, the girl who was wonderfully warm, bright and alive again.

At that moment, Sesshoumaru finally understood what Rin meant to him. She was more than an obligation, more than a companion, more than a spark of light. Rin... she was his eternity.


	3. Please, Not Tails!

Week: 3

Prompt: "When love is not madness, it is not love"

* * *

It was a mistake to think that Sesshoumaru grew up to be one of the most powerful and feared youkais because of his father's heritage. Sure, Inu no Taisho was 'the great dog general' but it was his wife who passed on most of her flaws and vices to their son. Sesshoumaru was intelligent, elegant, calm and rational. He was also cold, ruthless, arrogant and proud. A son any mother could be proud of. 

However, not right now. The current Lady of the Western Lands gritted her teeth as she caught sight of her only son in the company of that human girl. It had been only a couple of years since she had seen him for the last time, when he came to her seeking answers about Tenseiga. She remembered the human girl she had been forced to save and the concern her son felt for this Rin. She worried where this fondness for a human might lead.

And lo, she was right. Sesshoumaru appeared without warning, his grown-up human at his side and smelling like him - there were certain things mother should never know about her son - with that annoying toad looking as wretched as Lady felt trotting behind them. It was clear now that Sesshoumaru had inherited more from his father than she had thought. This... madness that weak people called love had been passed in his blood and took roots without her noticing. What kind of mother did that make her?

Lady of the Western Lands sighed as another thought occur to her as she watched her son pay utmost attention to any need of the girl without being obvious about it. Sesshoumaru intended to marry this girl. It meant they would have children sooner or later, probably sooner, who would be hanyou, not that Sesshoumaru particularly cared, too caught up in the madness of his feelings for the human. And hanyou children meant one thing - some ridiculous dog-like body part. With a heavy feeling of resignation, Sesshoumaru's mother closed her eyes and prayed, repeating three words over and over.

"Please, not tails!"


	4. A Simple Touch

**Week: **4

**Prompt:** "Opportunity creates desire"  
**Warning: **Spoilers for chapters 518 and 519 of manga. Also, not one of my best, I'm kinda tired.

* * *

There was an uneasy silence around the village they had retreated to, Rin noted. Kohaku and Kagome were still unconscious from Magatsuhi's attack and the whole group - Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku and Shippo - gathered inside the old miko's hut to watch them. 'As if that would help them' as Master Jaken said condescendingly, refusing to enter the human's dwelling. Rin, on the other hand, went inside and then outside on regular basis. Lord Sesshoumaru had left with Toutousai somewhere a couple of hours ago and she was anxiously awaiting his return.

As if answering her thoughts, a white ball of youki zoomed in to the centre of the village, transforming into the youkai lord she knew so well. Toutousai arrived just moments later, a large piece of... wood... in his hands. As Rin approached them, she caught the end of the conversation, recognizing the familiar name of Bokusenou mentioned by her lord with what she knew was irritation. She stopped some distance away, not wanting to disturb them and instead opted to watch as the swordsmith settled down and set about his task. Sesshoumaru stood above him as an unmoving statue and Rin quickly changed her focus on her lord. He seemed to be preoccupied by something and as she followed his line of vision, she finally understood. He was studying his new left arm.

She could relate to his curiousity. His arm was gone before she even came into his life and although it had never seemed to mar him - he was as close to perfection as any being could be - now he seemed to be more complete than before. Rin inched closer to him, driven by an impulse to observe him more closely. Not to touch, he rarely allowed her that privilege, but merely being in his proximity was enough to make her feel safe.

Sesshoumaru didn't acknowledge her when she stopped at his side, gazing up at him. She compared his new arm to his old and noticed few differences, namely the lack of stripes circling his wrist. Before she could stop herself, she touched her fingers to it.

"Rin."

She immediately pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry, Lord Sesshoumaru."

He gazed down at her with those knowing golden eyes and then he brought his left hand up in front of his face, studying it closely, turning it one way and then the other before letting it fall to his side. Rin was watching it closely, the grace of his movements captivating her and giving her courage to ask.

"May I touch it, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"Do as you wish."

She latched onto his hand, intertwining their fingers together, her small digits looking even smaller compared to his long, deadly ones. She squeezed his hand and the answering squeeze made her giggle in delight. She looked up at him and with earnest brown eyes declared.

"It's pretty, Lord Sesshoumaru."

A suspicious cough came from the direction of Toutousai and both of them looked at the old swordsmith who was watching them with a senile looking grin on his face.

"Now, if someone told me my old eyes would be seeing this..."

"I don't have all day, Toutousai," Sesshoumaru interupted him, his voice even colder than normally. "Finish your work and take your leave."

Toutousai scowled before he winked at Rin and turned to work again. Rin finally let go of Sesshoumaru's hand and skipped away towards the hut.

"I'm going to see if Kohaku woke up," she called out and disappeared inside. Barely seconds later, Sesshoumaru heard the voice of the young miko coming from inside and turned to watch Toutousai but the old fool seemed to learn when to keep his mouth shut.

Though the moment was ruined, Sesshoumaru didn't doubt another opportunity would present itself. Looking down at his regrown arm and still feeling the warmth of her small hand in his, he couldn't help but remember his words - "This arm is only meant to hold a sword!". Then this new one was meant to hold Rin.


	5. Reborn

**Week: **5

**Prompt: **Baby Steps

* * *

She died and was reborn and as every newborn, she had to learn everything anew.

Her first steps were taken to follow the white figure who came into her old life and led her into a new one.

Her first word was his name, mangled beyond recognition as she struggled with the long syllables and adding -sama at the end, her lips and tongue hard to control after not being used in so long.

Her first tears fell after being frightened by a youkai and dried when her new protector got rid of him effortlessly, giving her comfort without uttering a single word in her direction.

There were many firsts after she died and was reborn, many steps that she took by the side of the youkai lord, her small feet moving in sync with his as he, too, took new steps on a road of caring for a human.


	6. It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This

Week: 6

Prompt: Second Time Around

Warnings: Angst, character death

* * *

It wasn't supposed to be like this, she thinks angrily. She is a human, a mortal, an ephemeral creature to wink out of existence before realizing what it means to truly live. He, he was her opposite, a youkai, an immortal, granted longevity far exceeding anything she could have ever imagined.

Why then is she sitting here, an old, tired woman with hair so gray it almost look white, just like his? Why is she bound to this room because her health is too fragile to endanger it in the harsh winter outside? Why is there no tall and regal figure in white, watching her without being obvious about it?

Because Fate is having a laugh at her expense.

"Will you remember Rin after she dies?"

A childish question cruelly answered in her old age. She is the one remembering him, not the other way around. She is the one waiting for him because she believes in reincarnation and knows that he will always find a way to come to her. For this reason alone, she holds out and lives, waiting for that second chance the heaven must grant them, otherwise she might start to believe there is no justice in the world.

She lives. She lives through wars and plagues and epidemics and she always waits, always hopes, always wakes up thinking that today he will finally come and take her away from this mundanity that is her life without him.

She lives, she waits. She falls sick and coughs blood but still she waits. She recovers and still and always waits. Second chance, second life, second time around, whatever it is she is waiting for, she waits.

And waiting, she closes her eyes.

Waiting, she lets herself rest.

Waiting, she breaths for the last time.

Waiting, Sesshoumaru's little girl dies.


	7. Duty

Week: 7

Prompt: Sugar and Spice

Warnings: There are some adult situations, probably not enough to warrant M-rating, but better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

Rin wanted to be a good wife to Sesshoumaru. After spending a substantial part of her childhood traipsing around the wilderness in a company of three youkais and for some time an undead boy, she was a shock to the ordered court of the Western Lands. However, bright as she was, she took quickly to learning how to be a proper lady. First in a position of Sesshoumaru's ward and, after reaching certain age, as his intended. Her instruction was wide and she sought even by herself to broaden her knowledge. The married women's duties to their husbands were the most interesting topic to her ever since her engagement. Soon she learned she wouldn't be able to fullfill all of them.

Her tendency of overroasting the fish when they had still travelled and the fact she had practically lived on stolen vegetables and fruits left her skills in a kitchen wanting. Her first and subsequently last attempt to cook for Sesshoumaru almost ended in a food poisoning. How was she to know she had sweetened the rice too much and that dumping half of a packet of spice into the soup would make it indigestible even for a taiyoukai of Sesshoumaru's power? She was in tears that night, overhearing Jaken's accusation of "trying to poison Sesshoumaru-sama". Her mood lifted a little when she saw the toad the following day, covered in so many bumps even she couldn't count them all.

As for the other duties, she faired much better. Her gentle soul offered him comfort, her knowing eyes gave him understanding and her sweet body gave him pleasure. When they came together, they were perfect in a way only they could be. When she arched into his touch, she would offer her heart to him. When he traced all of the paths on her body, he would leave parts of his soul imprinted on her skin. When the darkness of her hair spilled over their futon and the shimmer of his hair hid them from the world, when the sweetness of her mouth mixed with the spicy taste of his own and when their mingled breaths echoed as one during the frenzy of their lovemaking, the meaning of completion became clear as never before. Two halves made to fit each other, one soft where the other was hard, one dark in an appearance but not mind while the bright looks of the other belied the darkness within.

Duty. For Rin, the word had never held negative connotations, in fact, it came naturally to her. It was a wife's duty to care for her husband, to please him in any way she could, but above all, her duty meant loving him. And loving Sesshoumaru had become Rin's second nature a long time ago.


	8. Unlikely Protector

Week: 8

Prompt: When what you want doesn't happen, learn to want what does

* * *

It was easy to see him anytime she wanted. All she had to do was to fly over to his small group and watch him. She was finally free to do as she pleased, able to go wherever she wished, feel whatever she wanted. Naturally, she felt compelled to follow him as she had done so many times in her previous life.

And then there was the girl. His only weakness, though for a very long time all of his enemies were wrong as to the extent of his feelings, herself included. They thought her his property, more fragile than others and therefore more vulnerable to attack. Hurting her would mean hurting his pride and honour, nothing more, nothing less. Such a mistake on their part.

As Kagura observed Sesshoumaru and Rin, she didn't see an owner and a live toy. She didn't see a master and a servant and most of all, she didn't see a youkai and a human. What she saw... she wasn't sure. He cared for the little girl and she adored him. Her feelings were easy to understand. Few would remain unaffected by Sesshoumaru's appearance, strength and inherent grace. As for the girl...

She was cute, for a human child, that is. Certainly more adorable than Hakudoushi or the fox brat of Inuyasha's group. She felt things so deeply, not afraid to show her feelings and weaknesses. And she had such a good heart, so ready to forgive even those who attempted to hurt her. She forgave Kohaku and she even forgave Kagura. Naivety, some would scoff and call it a human foolishness. But maybe it was a spiritual strength yet unheard of, an ability to see good in the evil hearts. And that would help to explain how she came to be in Sesshoumaru's company when any other child would run away as fast as their legs would carry them.

Kagura let out a little laugh that carried as a light breeze. She was getting too involved in her thoughts. Her purpose here was different. When she decided to follow through with her idea, she was surprised at herself and her selflessness. But after witnessing Sesshoumaru's descent to Hell to save Rin and the aftermath of her second death, she knew this was something she had to do. The girl was above being precious to Sesshoumaru. It was as if Rin was the only thing that mattered to him. Hurting her wouldn't mean hurting his pride and honour. It would mean hurting him personally, something that was considered impossible. At least until the girl had come along.

At the time of her death, Kagura was overjoyed he came to see her and say goodbye. She thought that the compassion he showed her meant he could have felt something for her, no matter how weak those feelings were. Looking back at that moment, she realized that the compassion was all it was. There were no deeper feelings on his part. His emotions were reserved for the human child and even his passing kindness to the wind sorceress was born from those feelings.

How she wanted to hate the girl. But she couldn't, not after seeing the girl's sadness when Rin heard about her death. Rin wasn't Kagura's rival, or rather, Kagura would never be a rival to Rin, not even if the sorceress had lived. In the youkai's world, where genuine feelings were rare and reduced to caring for the closest family, sometimes not even that, having someone to care for you without any ulterior motive was so incredible and incomprehensible that you protected those who did.

In Kagura's mind, the equation was simple. Sesshoumaru cared for Rin. If the girl got hurt, he would get hurt. Kagura didn't want that. If she couldn't be the one he cared for, than she would make sure that no harm would come to the one holding his feelings. So she took to following the girl and looking after her, protecting her when Sesshoumaru wasn't there. Sure, there were the other three members of Sesshoumaru's entourage but they were hard-pressed to keep up with the little girl's energy. Besides, the two-headed dragon couldn't follow her to the small crevices and caves she loved to explore, the toad had a propensity for falling asleep or grumbling under his breath so much he forgot to watch out for the danger. And Kohaku was a boy. A boy who could take only so much interest in the various flowers Rin picked and who missed his sister so much that it hurt inside.

In the end, it was up to Kagura to look after the girl and keep her out of trouble. Wherever Rin went, the wind followed. If a youkai thought a little girl would make a fine meal, he found himself corrected by the blinding whirlwind appearing from nowhere and pushing him away. If Rin climbed up a tree to reach that delicious looking fruit dangling so temptingly at the end of the highest limb and than slipped and fell down, her fall was cushioned by the air itself, making it look as if she was floating down instead of falling. And if she had gone too far from the camp and lost her way, the wind was there to guide her safely back. The strangest thing about it all was the fact Rin always thanked her unseen protector.

"Thank you for scaring away the youkai."

"Thank you for catching Rin."

"Thank you for showing Rin the way."

She was truly a sweet child. No, Kagura wasn't entirely happy. But she was free and she could help the one important person in her life. Being content was enough for her.


	9. Once upon a time

Week/Prompt: 34; Outsider's POV

Author's Note: I've been gone a long time, huh? Sorry for that, real life was a pain in the neck. I'll try to participate more actively in this comm again.

* * *

"A long time ago," an old woman starts as she gazes at the eager faces of her grandchildren, "I was a little girl and I had no one to play with so I spent a lot of time outside in the woods. I was warned not to as youkais roamed the land wide and far but I paid no heed. Foolishness and courage of the young!

Then, one day, I met another little girl. She was picking flowers and though her hair were tangled and unkempt, her checkered yukata was far better than what I was dressed in."

"Was she a youkai?" one of the younger ones pipes up.

"No, my dear. She was an ordinary girl, just like me. I talked to her for a bit and we played, making wreaths of flowers and talking nonsense like little girls tend to do. I forgot about the time as the girl, Rin was her name, told me about her lord. How he was strong, brave, handsome, always took care of her and protected her. I had no idea what the truth was."

"The truth?" the same girl as before asks.

"Yes, the truth," the old woman looks above the heads of the children as she recalls that day in the woods. "She was talking, I was listening and we didn't notice a youkai sneaking up on us," the children gasp as one and she continues, "I screamed when the monster landed in front of us but Rin wasn't afraid. She backed away from the monster, pulling me along until our backs hit the tree. I closed my eyes as the youkai lounged for us, waiting for the death to claim me," here she pauses, taking in enraptured expressions around her. "It never came. There was a soft woosh, the youkai screeched and when I opened my eyes, it laid dead on the ground."

"What happened?" all children demand to know.

"Rin's lord arrived and saved us. He killed the youkai with his sword."

"Just like that?" the eldest boy frowns.

"Just like that," his grandmother confirms, "You see, he was no ordinary man. No," she laughs softly, "he was no man. When I looked up, I saw a magnificent being in white, with long hair, marks on his face and golden eyes. Rin's lord and protector was a daiyoukai."

There is stunned silence, so she finishes her tale.

"I was stunned with fear but Rin ran to him without hesitation, stopping only briefly to call goodbye and in another moment they were gone. I saw them both once again, several years later, when the daiyoukai lord married a human girl and they traveled across the land to their castle. I glimpsed them only from afar but I could tell one thing," the old woman smiles gently. "They were happy."

THE END


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